Latest Area News Headlines

Sassy Saturday is almost upon us! Join in on the fun of the second Annual Sassy Saturday on October 19th throughout Worthington! There will be great deals and fun activities at each of the participating businesses. Throughout the day…SHOP, SHOP, SHOP at participating local businesses!The 25 participating businesses include:

WORTHINGTON – For those who commute to Worthington from the north or head south out of town, good news – the detour on Highway 59 just north of I-90 is gone and the highway is now open to through traffic. Barricades were removed Tuesday afternoon.

WORTHINGTON – Refinancing bonds for the Prairie Elementary school will save taxpayers approximately $1.3 million over the next 10 years, District 518 Superintendent John Landgaard told school board members Tuesday night during a board meeting. That figure came in with a higher projected savings total than expected, Landgaard said. The...

WORTHINGTON – Approval for Dakota Golf Management to continue at Prairie View Golf Links for another two years was given Monday night during the Worthington City Council meeting on a 3 to 1 vote, with a small rate increase.

The council also heard details of a flood mitigation plan for the city by Bill Douglass of Bolten and Menk. The five-part plan begins with an 11-acre pond by Walmart, followed by replacing a culvert on East Oxford Street with a 10 foot by 10 foot box culvert. On McMillan Street, a block-long box culvert would be added. The channel would be widened from McMillan...

WORTHINGTON - The Southwest Crisis Center is seeking the public’s help to furnish a room for children at the center. In the past when an adult came in to speak with an advocate regarding domestic violence or sexual assault, there was no place for a child to sit or play or even nap. Sometimes when a parent leaves a home in a hurry because of domestic violence, they bring nothing more than their children and the clothes on their back. A room at the crisis center has now been designated as a children’s room, but they need help furnishing it. Here at Radio Works, we decided to give them a hand...

WORTHINGTON — For those of you hoping to blaze a path down Highway 59 today, there has been a bit of a delay in getting the detour just north of I-90 removed, according to Worthington Director of Engineering Dwayne Haffield. Random cracks formed soon after the pavement was placed, which crews are working to repair. The earliest the road will open is by Wednesday, and that is dependent on weather and repair time. Additional repairs to correct surface damaged cause by rain and hail are expected to be completed under traffic sometime after the road is open.

WORTHINGTON – Seniors in the area have been the target of yet another scam attempt, this one similar to one that was reported several weeks ago involving medical alert company. In the first scam, a phone call told seniors a medical alert service had been purchased for them, but they needed to set up details. It asked for personal banking information.

The new twist on the scam tells callers they qualify under a new program, the National Senior Assistance Program, to receive $3,000 in free grocery certificates. In addition, the client is offered a free medical alert bracelet or...

WORTHINGTON —Minnesota West Community and Technical College Culture Corner, in partnership with the Southwest Crisis Center and the Nobles County Integration Collaborative, will host an information and resource fair from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday in the Commons on the Worthington campus. Following the fair, “Minnecanos” will be presented from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the theater on the Worthington campus. There will be free food and activities during the resource and information fair. For more information, contact Le Lucht, 372-3423, or by email at le.lucht@...

From MPR:
Former U.S. Sen Rod Grams died late Tuesday night after a battle with cancer. He was 65.

His death was confirmed Wednesday morning by Kent Kaiser, a spokesman for the family.

Grams, who served a term in the U.S. House and a term in the Senate in the 1990s, is being remembered as a principled, humble conservative who helped usher in a new era of politics in Minnesota and Washington.

Born in 1948 in the central Minnesota town of Princeton, Grams grew up on a dairy farm. He went to Carroll College in Helena, Mont.

WORTHINGTON – Nobles County Public Works Director Steve Schneider Tuesday gave commissioners an overview of projects in the county that have been neglected or put off due to lack of money, stating Public Works has been doing the best they can with reduced staff and stagnant funding. Schneider said it was just recently that the county provided the department additional funding beyond what they were allotted in 1983, 30 years ago.

Not only does the department have aging equipment and facilities, he said, but when something breaks, dollars have to be taken from budgets that should be...

WORTHINGTON – The Worthington Public Utilities Power and Light Commission on Monday approved a resolution supporting the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System joint powers board funding request, which will allow the group to ask the state of Minnesota for $63.9 million on a bonding bill. That is the amount needed to get the Minnesota portion of the water system built, according to Worthington Public Utilities Manager Scott Hain.

Hain admitted the chances of getting the entire amount at one time is slim, but hopes if it is asked for they could get increments over the next several...